Andrew McCabe speaks out in op-ed after firing

By Kathryn Watson

March 24, 2018 / 12:44 PM
/ CBS News

McCabe denies accusation that he exhibited "lack of candor"

Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is speaking out over he was apparently fired from the bureau for a "lack of candor." McCabe authored an op-ed published in the Washington Post Friday night, claiming those accusations are "not true."

"Not in my worst nightmares did I ever dream my FBI career would end this way," McCabe wrote.

McCabe was fired by Attorney General Jeff Sessions two days before he could retire, after FBI officials recommended that he be fired. McCabe is expected to be the subject of criticism in an upcoming Department of Justice Inspector General report.

"I have been accused of 'lack of candor,'" McCabe wrote. "That is not true. I did not knowingly mislead or lie to investigators. When asked about contacts with a reporter that were fully within my power to authorize as deputy director, and amid the chaos that surrounded me, I answered questions as completely and accurately as I could. And when I realized that some of my answers were not fully accurate or may have been misunderstood, I took the initiative to correct them.

At worst, I was not clear in my responses, and because of what was going on around me may well have been confused and distracted — and for that I take full responsibility. But that is not a lack of candor. And under no circumstances could it ever serve as the basis for the very public and extended humiliation of my family and me that the administration, and the president personally, have engaged in over the past year."

McCabe's firing last week was not unexpected. But it was how he was fired that the former FBI official found disconcerting. McCabe claimed he learned he was fired after a friend called to to tell him the news from TV.

"So, after two decades of public service, I found out that I had been fired in the most disembodied, impersonal way — third-hand, based on a news account," McCabe wrote. "Shortly after getting word, I noticed an email from a Justice Department official in my work account, telling me that I had been 'removed from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the civil service.'"

McCabe said he awoke to a tweet from President Trump praising his firing.

"I was sad, but not surprised, to see that such unhinged public attacks on me would continue into my life after my service to the FBI," McCabe wrote. "President Trump's cruelty reminded me of the days immediately following the firing of James B. Comey, as the White House desperately tried to push the falsehood that people in the FBI were celebrating the loss of our director."

Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI - A great day for Democracy. Sanctimonious James Comey was his boss and made McCabe look like a choirboy. He knew all about the lies and corruption going on at the highest levels of the FBI!

McCabe said young people cannot be "dissuaded" from public service by the "divisive politics and partisan attacks that now so characterize our national discourse."

"There is nothing like having the opportunity to be a part of the greatest law-enforcement organization in the world, working every day for goals that you respect and cherish," McCabe said. "It is the best job you will ever have. Even if a president decides to attack you and your family. Even if you get fired on a Friday night, one day from your retirement."

Earlier this week, it was reported that McCabe had overseen a criminal probe investigating whether Sessions was untruthful in congressional testimony last year about his contacts with Russians. A Justice Department official claimed Sessions did not learn of the probe until it was reported this week, after McCabe's firing.